Eagles hit their peak at right time

Thursday

COLLIER TWP. -- After missing the playoffs last year, the Beaver County Christian boys soccer team decided to stay longer this year now that they’re in the playoffs.

The sixth-seeded underdogs scored just 13:40 into the game and held the lead the rest of the way, topping third-seeded Vincentian 3-2 in the Class A quarterfinals at Chartiers Valley High School Thursday.

The three goals were the most Vincentian had allowed since an Aug. 31.

Gib McCracken scored the opening goal on a free kick.

“I wasn’t expecting to score,” said McCracken. “We weren’t coming out strong and they were possessing the ball. We hadn’t found our game yet.

“I was fortunate to place the ball well.”

With that lead, the Eagles found their game quickly. Scott Carson scored again for BCCS just 17 minutes later.

“The goal early was big,” said BCCS coach Steve Warden. “When we got the second one, I was feeling a little safe.”

Warden’s comfort zone didn’t last long, though. Vincentian answered two and a half minutes later, when a David Rivetti goal to cut the gap to one.

But the BCCS defense stood strong and the half ended with a 2-1 Eagles’ lead.

BCCS started the second half much better than the first. Just 8:08 into the half, Abel Carleton scored for the Eagles on a header, then wowed the crowd with a backflip.

“The goalkeeper punted it, and I saw I could get to it first and get it back in,” said Carleton. “That was the first time I did the backflip.”

This two-goal margin again didn’t last, either. Alex Sharp answered for the Royals just 1:15 left to pull within one. But one proved to be enough for BCCS, which stepped up its defense the rest of the way as the snow started to fall.

“Towards the end of the season, we started to focus on defense,” said McCracken. “We were focused on giving up zero goals, and everyone was back in our zone.”

The Royals came back with a fury, keeping the pressure on but getting no serious scoring chances.

“Give Scott Carson the credit for keeping us together on defense,” Carleton said. “We knew we had the potential to get this far and it feels pretty awesome to get here.”

The Eagles will play Seton-La Salle Monday at a site and time to be determined in the semifinals. Win or lose, the season won’t end that night for BCCS, which will have one game after that -- either the championship next weekend or a PIAA play-in game Wednesday.

“I thought we might make it this far, but you don’t know,” Warden said. “We didn’t even make the playoffs last year because we had some problems. It looks like they’ve been solved.”

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